September 9th, 2014
To the President and Trustees of Boston University:
The climate change crisis is threatening life on Earth, and demands immediate and
transformative actions by individuals, governments, businesses, and institutions.
The extent of this crisis has only become clearer with the release of the most recent
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report,1 which outlines the ongoing effects
and future threats of climate change, including: increased scarcity of food and fresh
water; extreme weather events; rise in sea level; loss of biodiversity; areas becoming
uninhabitable; and mass human migration, conflict and violence. In response, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science has issued this dire warning: “the
wellbeing of people of all nations [is] at risk.”2
Because it is unlikely that fossil fuel interests (the major source of this crisis) will stop of
their own accord their unrelenting drive to burn these fuels at current rates, we must find
strategies to induce them to stop. As one step in this effort, the undersigned faculty
members, together with the DivestBU student movement, are urging Boston University
to divest its financial investments in fossil fuel interests. We recognize that the transition
to a post-fossil fuel society will be complex, but we must begin to take meaningful action
to promote a rapid phasing out of fossil fuel use.
There is ample evidence3 to suggest that careful divestment will result in no significant
financial hardships for institutions like Boston University. Furthermore, since the true
costs of carbon dioxide emissions are currently not taken into account in determining
fossil fuel companies’ stock prices, investing in them is becoming increasingly risky (the
‘carbon bubble’).4 Most importantly, we have a moral obligation to align our financial
interests with the future of our planet. It is wrong to use our endowment to commission
the destruction of a hospitable climate for our students, our children and - as is
increasingly evident - ourselves. There is a long history of responsible investors who
redirected investments away from socially unacceptable enterprises, and, indeed, our
institution has twice before taken action to disengage from financially reprehensible
actions (i.e., divesting from the Darfur genocide and partially from Apartheid South
Africa).5 Furthermore, Boston University has shown a real commitment to climate
change concerns through its sustainability and energy efficiency programs. The time
has come again to take another clear leadership role – this time taking action that will
accelerate solutions to the climate change crisis.
Thus, we are calling upon Boston University to divest from its fossil fuel holdings as a
moral, rational, and prudent step to take to help stop the climate catastrophe. Our call
aligns us with a growing list of universities, municipalities, and organizations that have
already divested.6
The wake up call has sounded. It is time to act!
1
Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, IPCC WGII AR5
Summary Statement for Policymakers,
http://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/IPCC_WG2AR5_SPM_Approved.pdf
2
What We Know (2014), AAAS, http://whatweknow.aaas.org/get-the-facts/
3
For example, see: Patrick Geddes (Chief Financial Officer, Aperio Group), Do the
Investment Math: Building a Carbon-Free Portfolio (2013).
Http://www.aperiogroup.com/system/files/documents/building_a_carbon_free_portfolio.p
df
4
See, for example, the recent reports on the ‘carbon bubble’ by the Carbon Tracker
Initiative group: http://www.carbontracker.org/site/carbonbubble
5
Leslie Friday, “New Socially Responsible Investing Committee Meets This Week,” BU
Today, December 2, 2013; Muriel Cohen and Fletcher Roberts, “BU Votes to Divest
Selectively,” Boston Globe, April 27, 1979, pg. 19.
6
gofossilfree.org
Name
Rank/Position
Department/School
1. Barbara Brown
Director of Outreach
African Studies Center
2. Shahla Haeri
Assoc. Prof.
Anthropology
3. Jenny White
Prof.
Anthropology
4. Laurie LaPorte
Lecturer
Anthropology
5. James McCann
Prof.
Archeology & History
6. Chris Roosevelt
Assoc. Prof.
Archeology
7. Paul Goldberg
Prof.
Archeology
8. Daniel Ranalli
Prof.
Arts Administration Program
9. Nancy Crooker
Research Prof.
Astronomy
10. Adrien Finzi
Prof.
Biology
11. Francisco Naya
Assoc. Prof.
Biology
12. Fred Wasserman
Assoc. Prof.
Biology
13. Jen-Wei Lin
Prof.
Biology
14. John Celenza
Assoc. Prof.
Biology
15. Karen Warkentin
Assoc. Prof.
Biology
16. Trevor Siggers
Assist. Prof.
Biology
17. William Eldred
Prof.
Biology
18. Cynthia Bradham
Assist. Prof.
Biology
19. Ed Loechler
Prof.
Biology
20. Les Kaufman
Prof.
Biology
21. Ian Davison
Assist. Prof.
Biology
22. Horatio Frydman
Assist. Prof.
Biology
23. James Traniello
Prof.
Biology
24. Michael Baum
Prof.
Biology
25. Kathryn Spilios
Lecturer
Biology
26. Christopher Schneider
Assoc. Prof.
Biology
27. Karina Baum
Lecturer
Biology
28. John Finnerty
Assoc. Prof.
Biology
29. Gloria Callard
Prof.
Biology
30. Pamela Templer
Assoc. Prof.
Biology
31. Gary Benson
Assoc. Prof.
Biology, Computer Science,
Bioinformatics
32. Ahmad Khalil
Assist. Prof.
Biomedical Engineering
33. Bela Suki
Prof.
Biomedical Engineering
34. Jerome Mertz
Prof.
Biomedical Engineering
35. Sean Elliott
Assoc. Prof.
Chemistry
36. Adrian Whitty
Assoc. Prof.
Chemistry
37. John Snyder
Prof.
Chemistry
38. John Caradonna
Assoc. Prof.
Chemistry
39. Linda Doerrer
Assoc. Prof.
Chemistry
40. Thomas Tullius
Prof.
Chemistry & Bioinformatics
41. Assaf Kfoury
Prof.
Computer Science
42. Richard West
Assoc. Prof.
Computer Science
43. Margrit Betke
Prof.
Computer Science
44. Andrei Lapets
Lecturer
Computer Science
45. Kyna Hamill
Lecturer
Core Curriculum
46. Alan Strahler
Prof.
Earth & Environment
47. James Baldwin
Lecturer
Earth & Environment
48. Rick Reibstein
Lecturer
Earth & Environment
49. Nathan Phillips
Prof.
Earth & Environment
50. Ranga Myneni
Prof.
Earth & Environment
51. Mark Friedl
Prof.
Earth & Environment
52. Suchi Gopal
Prof.
Earth & Environment
53. Cutler Cleveland
Prof.
Earth & Environment
54. Rachael Garrett
Adjunct Assist. Prof.
Earth & Environment
55. Randall Ellis
Prof.
Economics
56. Johannes Schmieder
Assist. Prof.
Economics
57. Douglas Zook
Assoc. Prof.
Education
58. Peter Garik
Clinical Assoc. Prof.
Education
59. Don DeRosa
Clinical Assoc. Prof.
Education
60. Marcia Edson
Clinical Assist. Prof.
Education
61. Charles White
Assoc. Prof.
Education
62. Christopher Martell
Clinical Assist. Prof.
Education
63. John McCarthy
Clinical Assist. Prof.
Education
64. Jennifer Green
Assist. Prof.
Education
65. Robert Hoffmeister
Assoc. Prof.
Education
66. Bruce Fraser
Prof.
Education
67. Christina Dobbs
Clinical Assist. Prof.
Education
68. Jane Lannak
Clinical Assoc. Prof.
Education
69. Siddharth Ramachandran Prof.
Electrical & Computer Engineering
70. Robert Kotiuga
Assoc. Prof.
Electrical & Computer Engineering
71. Theodore Moustakas
Prof.
Electrical & Computer Engineering
72. Anita Patterson
Prof.
English
73. Carrie Preston
Assoc. Prof.
English
74. Charles Rzepka
Prof.
English
75. Ha Jin
Prof.
English
76. James Siemon
Prof.
English
77. John Paul Riquelme
Prof.
English
78. Julia Brown
Prof.
English
79. Leslie Epstein
Prof.
English
80. Susan Mizruchi
Prof.
English
81. Maurice Lee
Prof.
English
82. Eugene Green
Prof. Emeritus
English
83. Sam Kauffman
Prof.
Film & Television
84. John Bernstein
Assoc. Prof.
Film & Television
85. Mary Jane Doherty
Assoc. Prof.
Film & Television
86. Garland Waller
Assist. Prof.
Film & Television
87. Roy Grundmann
Assoc. Prof.
Film & Television
88. Susan Kandarian
Prof.
Health Sciences
89. Helen Barbas
Prof.
Health Sciences
90. Kristin Baker
Assist. Research Prof. Health Sciences
91. Nina Silber
Prof.
History
92. Jeffrey Rubin
Assoc. Prof.
History
93. Jonathan Zatlin
Assoc. Prof.
History
94. Sarah Phillips
Assoc. Prof.
History
95. Arianne Chernock
Assoc. Prof.
History
96. Jon Roberts
Prof.
History
97. Marilyn Halter
Prof.
History & American Studies
98. David Mayers
Prof.
History & Political Science
99. Keith Morgan
Prof.
History of Art & Architecture and
American & New England Studies
100. Deborah Kahn
Assoc. Prof.
History of Art & Architecture
101. James Schmidt
Prof.
History, Philosophy, & Political
Science
102. Adam Sweeting
Assoc. Prof.
Humanities Division - College of
General Studies
103. Meg Tyler
Assoc. Prof.
Humanities Division - College of
General Studies
104. Christopher Fahy
Lecturer
Humanities Division - College of
General Studies
105. Neal Leavitt
Senior Lecturer
Humanities Division - College of
General Studies
106. Mitchell Zuckoff
Prof.
Journalism
107. Chris Daly
Assoc. Prof.
Journalism
108. Susan Akram
Prof.
Law
109. David Lyons
Prof.
Law & Philosophy
110. Stacey Dogan
Prof.
Law
111. Robert Volk
Prof.
Law
112. Robert Sloane
Prof.
Law
113. Gerald Leonard
Prof.
Law
114. Alan B. Cohen
Prof.
Management
115. Siobhan O’Mahony
Assoc. Prof.
Management
116. Olga Hawn
Assist. Prof.
Management
117. Samina Karim
Assoc. Prof.
Management
118. Stephanie Watts
Assoc. Prof.
Management
119. Erin Reid
Assist. Prof.
Management
120. Jacob Groshek
Assist. Prof.
Mass Comm., Advertising & PR
121. Steve Quigley
Assoc. Prof.
Mass Comm., Advertising & PR
122. David Rohrlich
Prof.
Mathematics & Statistics
123. Margaret Beck
Assist. Prof.
Mathematics & Statistics
124. Takashi Kimura
Prof.
Mathematics & Statistics
125. Joseph Zaia
Prof.
Medicine - Biochemistry
126. Valentina Perissi
Assist. Prof.
Medicine - Biochemistry
127. Karina Schon
Assist. Prof.
Medicine - Anatomy & Neurobiology
128. Robert Joseph
Assist. Prof.
Medicine - Anatomy & Neurobiology
129. Jennifer Luebke
Assoc. Prof.
Medicine - Anatomy & Neurobiology
130. Farzad Mortazavi
Insructor
Medicine - Anatomy & Neurobiology
131. Ivana Delalle
Assoc. Prof.
Medicine - Pathology & Laboratory
Medicine
132. Shi Yang
Assoc. Prof.
Medicine - Pathology & Laboratory
Practice
133. John Cho Lee
Assist. Prof.
Medicine - Pathology & Laboratory
Practice
134. Barbara Slack
Assoc. Prof.
Medicine - Pathology & Laboratory
Practice
135. Barbara Nikolajczyk
Assoc. Prof.
Medicine - Microbiology
136. Gustavo Mostoslavsky
Assist. Prof.
Medicine - Microbiology
137. Jennifer SnyderCappione
Research Assist. Prof. Medicine - Microbiology
138. Jeffrey Browning
Research Prof.
Medicine - Microbiology
139. Richard Cohen
Prof.
Medicine - Dept. of Medicine
140. Stefano Monti
Prof.
Medicine - Dept. of Medicine
141. Robert Friedman
Prof.
Medicine - Dept. of Medicine; Public
Health - Biostatistics, Epidemiology
142. Thomas Perls
Prof.
Medicine - Dept. of Medicine
143. Richard Sherva
Prof.
Medicine - Dept. of Medicine
144. Susan Phillips
Clinical Assist. Prof.
Medicine - Dept. of Medicine
145. Rebecca Silliman
Prof.
Medicine - Dept. of Medicine; Public
Health - Epidemiology
146. Thomas Barber
Prof.
Medicine - Dept. of Medicine
147. Karsten Lunze
Research Assist. Prof. Medicine - Dept. of Medicine
148. James Hudspeth
Instructor
Medicine – Dept. of Medicine
149. Amresh Hanchate
Assist. Prof.
Medicine – Dept. of Medicine
150. Shelley Russek
Prof.
Medicine - Pharmacology, Biology &
Program in Neuroscience
151. Susan Leeman
Prof.
Medicine - Pharmacology
152. Olga Gursky
Prof.
Medicine - Physiology & Biophysics
153. Donald Small
Prof.
Medicine - Physiology & Biophysics
154. David Atkinson
Prof.
Medicine - Physiology & Biophysics
155. Esther Bullitt
Assoc. Prof.
Medicine - Physiology & Biophysics
156. Sudha Seshadri
Prof.
Medicine - Neurology
157. Samuel Frank
Assoc. Prof.
Medicine - Neurology
158. Ali Guermazi
Prof.
Medicine - Radiology
159. Ducksoo Kim
Prof.
Medicine - Radiology
160. Adam Lerner
Prof.
Medicine - Hematology & Medical
Oncology
161. Ellen Silver Highfield
Assoc. Res. Prof.
Medicine - Family Medicine
162. Lance Laird
Assist. Prof.
163. Paul Barbone
Prof.
Medicine - Family Medicine
Mechanical Engineering
164. Daniel Hudon
Lecturer
Metropolitan College - Astronomy
165. Maureen Sullivan
Lecturer
166. J. Keith Vincent
Assoc. Prof.
Metropolitan College - Sociology
Modern Languages & Comparative
Literature
167. Roberta Micallef
Assoc. Prof.
Modern Languages & Comparative
Literature
168. Sunil Sharma
Assoc. Prof.
Modern Languages & Comparative
Literature
169. Wiebke Denecke
Assoc. Prof.
Modern Languages & Comparative
Literature
170. Maggie Cummings
Lecturer
Modern Languages & Comparative
Literature
171. Bayla Keyes
Assoc. Prof.
Music
172. Linda Jiorle-Nagy
Assist. Prof.
Music
173. Lucia Lin
Assoc. Prof.
Music
174. Joshua Rifkin
Prof.
Music
175. Martin Pearlman
Prof.
Music - Historical Performance
176. Phyllis Hoffman
Prof.
Music - Voice & Opera
177. Sharon Daniels
Assoc. Prof.
Music - Voice & Opera
178. Jason Yust
Assist. Prof.
Music Composition & Theory
179. Andre de Quadros
Prof.
Music Education
180. Richard Bunbury
Lecturer
Music Education
181. Jennifer Gottlieb
Research Assist. Prof. Occupational Therapy
182. Aaron Garrett
Assoc. Prof.
Philosophy
183. Alisa Bokulich
Assoc. Prof.
Philosophy
184. Juliet Floyd
Prof.
Philosophy
185. Susanne Sreedhar
Assoc. Prof.
Philosophy
186. Martin Schmaltz
Prof.
Physics
187. Pankaj Mehta
Assist. Prof.
Physics
188. Neta C. Crawford
Prof.
Political Science
189. Dino Christenson
Assist. Prof.
Political Science
190. Irene Gendzier
Prof. Emeritus
Political Science
191. Paul Lipton
Research Assoc. Prof. Program in Neuroscience (CAS)
192. Deborah Belle
Prof.
Psychological & Brain Sciences
193. Deborah Kelemen
Prof.
Psychological & Brain Sciences
194. Kathleen MalleyMorrison
Prof.
Psychological & Brain Sciences
195. Catherine CaldwellHarris
Assoc. Prof.
Psychological & Brain Sciences
196. Jacqueline Liederman
Prof.
Psychological & Brain Sciences
197. Helen Tager-Flusberg
Prof.
Psychological & Brain Sciences
198. Melissa Kibbe
Assist. Prof.
Psychological & Brain Sciences
199. James Cherry
Prof.
Psychological & Brain Sciences
200. David Ozonoff
Prof.
Public Health - Environmental
Health
201. Michael McClean
Assoc. Prof.
Public Health - Environmental
Health
202. David Sherr
Prof.
Public Health - Environmental
Health
203. Jonathan Levy
Prof.
Public Health - Environmental
Health
204. Wendy Heiger-Bernays
Assoc. Prof.
Public Health - Environmental
Health
205. Candice Belanoff
Clinical Assist. Prof.
206. Elizabeth Hatch
Prof.
Public Health - Community Health
Sciences
Public Health - Epidemiology
207. Lauren Wise
Assoc. Prof.
Public Health - Epidemiology
208. Mark Glickman
Research Prof.
Public Health - Health Policy &
Management
209. Jacob Bor
Assist. Prof.
Public Health - Global Health
210. Kirk Dearden
Assoc. Prof.
Public Health - Global Health
211. Davidson Hamer
Prof.
Public Health - Global Health &
School of Medicine
212. Hillel Levine
Prof.
Religion
213. Michael Zank
Prof.
Religion
214. Deeana Klepper
Assoc. Prof.
Religion
215. Diana Lobel
Assoc. Prof.
Religion
216. Charles Henebry
Lecturer
Rhetoric Division - College of
General Studies
217. Stephanie Byttebier
Lecturer
Rhetoric Division - College of
General Studies
218. Jim Iffland
Prof.
Romance Studies
219. Christopher Maurer
Prof.
Romance Studies
220. Dennis Costa
Assoc. Prof.
Romance Studies
221. John McGrath
Assoc. Prof.
Social Sciences Division - College
of General Studies
222. Richard Samuel Deese
Lecturer
Social Sciences Division - College
of General Studies
223. Susan Lee
Master Lecturer
Social Sciences Division - College
of General Studies
224. Lee Staples
Clinical Prof.
Social Work
225. Ellen DeVoe
Assoc. Prof.
Social Work
226. Maryann Amodeo
Prof.
227. Ruth Paris
Assoc. Prof.
Social Work
Social Work
228. Alya Guseva
Assoc. Prof.
Sociology
229. David Swartz
Assist. Prof.
Sociology
230. Emily Barman
Assoc. Prof.
Sociology
231. John Stone
Prof.
Sociology
232. Julian Go
Prof.
Sociology
233. Nicole Aschoff
Lecturer
Sociology
234. Peter Yeager
Assoc. Prof.
Sociology
235. Stephen Kalberg
Assoc. Prof.
Sociology
236. Susan Eckstein
Prof.
Sociology
237. Itai Vardi
Lecturer
Sociology
238. Patricia Rieker
Visiting Prof.
Sociology
239. Sigrun Olafsdottir
Assoc. Prof.
Sociology
240. Clay Hopper
Lecturer
Theatre
241. Mark Stanley
Assoc. Prof.
Theatre
242. John Hart
Prof.
Theology - Christian Ethics
243. Shelley Rambo
Assoc. Prof.
Theology
244. Diana M. Swancutt
Vis. Assoc. Prof.
Theology
245. Bryan Stone
Prof.
Theology
246. David S. Jacobsen
Prof. of the Practice
Theology - Homiletics
247. Thomas Thangaraj
Prof.
Theology
248. Wanda Stahl
Clin. Assist. Prof.
Theology
249. Alejandro Botta
Assoc. Prof.
Theology
250. Elizabeth C. Parsons
Lecturer
Theology
251. Susan W. Hassinger
Bishop-in-Residence
& Lecturer
Theology
252. Hugh O’Donnell
Prof.
Visual Arts
253. Chris Walsh
Assist. Prof. & Assoc.
Director
Writing Program
254. Diane Greco-Josefowicz Lecturer
Writing Program
255. Frederic Fitts
Lecturer
Writing Program
256. Stephen Hodin
Lecturer
Writing Program
257. Joelle Renstrom
Lecturer
Writing Program
258. Marisa Milanese
Senior Lecturer &
Assoc. Director
Writing Program
259. Deborah Breen
Senior Lecturer
Writing Program
260. David Shawn
Senior Lecturer
Writing Program
261. Sarah Madsen Hardy
Senior Lecturer
Writing Program
262. Jura Avizienis
Lecturer
Writing Program & Core Curriculum
263. Somy Kim
Lecturer
Writing Program